Netflix Commissions Kunle Afolayan On ‘Anikulapo’ Series

Indeed success always begets great things and a new venture. This speaks of the success story of the movie ‘Anikulapo’ by cerebral filmmaker, Kunle Afolayan, which came tops in the first week of release according to Netflix ranking.

According to Afolayan, Netflix, a global streaming platform, wants him to produce a series from Anikulapo.

The award winning filmmaker, made this known today in an interview with Guardian UK, adding that he was sure ‘Anikulapo’ which he had been working on for six years would become a blockbuster.

‘Anikulapo’, set in the 17th century ancient Oyo kingdom, premiered on Netflix on September 30, 2022 and a week after its premiere, became the most-watched non-English film on Netflix, with a cumulative 8.7m streaming hours.

Kunle Afolayan who featured his seventeen year old daughter, Eyiyemi Afolayan in ‘Anikulapo’ said his initial plan was to make it into a series but Netflix prevailed on him to make it a feature film first and if the movie sold out, he could expand it into a series.

I’ve been working on Aníkúlápó for six years. Originally, I wanted to make a series, but I shopped it and kept telling people that this movie would be bigger than Game of Thrones,” Afolayan said.

“Eventually, Netflix told me to make a movie first since I believed in the project that much, and if it became a success, we’d develop a series.

“Right now, Netflix is the one urging me to start making the series. I knew we made a great film and that it’d start conversations, but I didn’t know it’d do as well as it has done,” he added.

Aníkúlápó, an epic movie, narrates the story of Saro (played by Kunle Remi) who after an affair with the king’s wife, Queen Arolake (played by Bimbo Ademoye) leads to his demise, a zealous traveller encounters a mystical bird with the power to give him another chance.

The movie was produced in Yoruba language and features A-list actors and actresses such as Kunle Remi, Yinka Quadri, Bimbo Ademoye, Sola Sobowale and others.